Just LOVE the way Apple Maps looks when it works, which ain't all that much here in Japan lol. Meanwhile I gotta depend on a Google icon to let me access maps and transportation directions (which has also improved BTW).

Can't wait till Cook gets done with Apple's, though, it really IS way more beautiful than Google's and CLEAR with nice route labels.

From what I've read so far, the people who are satisfied with Apple Maps live in the US, or about 1/3 of Apple total revenue.
From a business perspective it seems to make sense to prioritize the market that brings in 2/3 of your revenue.

So, you see Apple's market as "the US", and everywhere else. Many complaints are coming from people who live in areas that are much less than 1/3 of Apple's market. Where would you put them on Apple's priority list?

I'm not a New Yorker but I have am very familiar with the city. I also have not upgraded to IOS 6. But I believe the Statue of liberty is turned 90 degrees in the photo you provide at the start of this thread. When I have seen Miss Liberty in the past she had been looking out to sea not at Manhattan.

I was playing around with maps when this was first posted to look for some improvements and found none. The statue of liberty was still displaying as flat. But today I looked and there have been some big improvements. Brooklyn, which at first was only 2D in flyover, is now 3D. Sure, Brooklyn is still a "major" city but it looks like less populated areas are beginning to see flyover. I also checked out my hometown in the Valley (population under 25,000, also mentioned in the post) and it was not flyover enabled on Friday but is now.

I think flyover will ultimately turn out to be a gimmick as it has very little usefulness when actually getting directions somewhere, but it is a fun feature and I'm glad to see more support for it. Too bad all of the 3D renderings look like total crap.

I think flyover will ultimately turn out to be a gimmick as it has very little usefulness when actually getting directions somewhere, but it is a fun feature and I'm glad to see more support for it. Too bad all of the 3D renderings look like total crap.

I think you're wrong about flyover being a gimmick. Seeing an overview of the place I am traveling to is useful to me. Landmarks like parking lots, tall buildings, shopping centers, etc., stand out much more than they do with 2D Satellite view.

I know I won't be seeing the overhead view when I actually make the trips, but if overhead views were "useless", as some claim, then we wouldn't have maps or globes or scale models at all.

It looks like a rectangular grid, similar to any other city. But view it with 3D terrain and buildings in Google Earth or Apple's Maps app, and you have a lot more information about the nature of the city.

The QuickTime VR StreetView is certainly useful also, but it can't tell you at a glance what is two blocks away, or even just around the corner.

Someone on my road has, what it looks like, their own business working from their house. I know this as it looked weird but checked their website and it was legit so I ignored it.
lolz

I've seen this in Google Maps many times, so it's not unique to Apple.

I think what often happens is that a small business owner's home address shows up instead of their business address. Maybe they register their home address with the City when they first open. Not sure...

I've seen this in Google Maps many times, so it's not unique to Apple.

I think what often happens is that a small business owner's home address shows up instead of their business address. Maybe they register their home address with the City when they first open. Not sure...

So, you see Apple's market as "the US", and everywhere else. Many complaints are coming from people who live in areas that are much less than 1/3 of Apple's market. Where would you put them on Apple's priority list?

As a business, priority should logically be given to the market that generates (and will continue to generate) the most revenue.

If you're in a country / area that falls under Apple's radar, the only hope is that Google Maps comes back to the App Store as soon as Apple let them.

And BTW, Apple sometime show the industry the way: smart phone GUI, App Store, sensors on phones, modern tablets, just to name a few.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Renzatic

Yeah! Those copycats! Apple innovates, everyone else imitates!

...cept that Google was showing off vector maps back in 2010. Hell, vectors in general aren't exactly new things. Windows has used vector art for their icons since Vista came out back in...what...2007? They're hardly the future. They've been around for quite awhile.

In another thread a comment had been made that Apple had failed to implement Japan's rather unique block and building numbering system... So while you could get to a general location, locating an individual premises on a block was impossible (and that's what my statement was based on). I'd be interested to hear if they'd started to fix that.

I just searched for my own address, and it found it correctly, so it looks like whatever issues there were have been fixed (at least in metropolitan Tokyo).

Quote:

Originally Posted by a0me

Shinjuku station is used by an average of 3.7 million people per day, making it the world's busiest station. Shibuya is the fourth-busiest rail station in Japan (2.4 million passengers on an average weekday)

Ah. That makes Shibuya station busy, not big. :P

(Not sure why, though. Shibuya Crossing is cool to see as a tourist, and its Apple Store is easier to get to than the one in Ginza, but otherwise I don't get the appeal of that place.)

Adding 3D to the most famous landmark in the US isn't really addressing the problem. The problem is the other 99.99999999999% of the maps. Reliability is a real problem. Lack of points of interest. Outdated information.

Adding 3D to the most famous landmark in the US isn't really addressing the problem. The problem is the other 99.99999999999% of the maps. Reliability is a real problem. Lack of points of interest. Outdated information.

Apple Maps are never going to be as good as Google Maps sadly.

heh heh, one year from now, the tune will change... One year is a long time.. The map is already off the radar screen for the general user.. If IOS map does not work for someone, they would have move on and use one of the alternative map already..